Goals Gone Bad (And 3+ Remedies!)

How are your 2025 goals going? If they could use a reboot, this one's for you.

Aug 08, 2025

A few days ago, I reached into the refrigerator to grab the last remaining bit of spinach. According to the packaging, it had not yet reached its expiration date, but when I opened it up, the texture and - shall we use the word scent here - told a different story.

The end date hadn’t yet arrived, but the spinach was done.

Any chance some of your 2025 goals feel similarly?

Maybe back in January, at the dawn of a clear and ambitious new year, you set yourself a bunch of goals to reach by December 31.

And maybe now, just past the mid-year point, some of them - like my spinach - no longer seem quite so fresh and inviting.

I’m guessing one (or maybe a combo, depending on how many goals you set) of the following might ring true for you, as it does for me:

You’re exceeding your own expectations and have already set new and bigger goals.
You’re not where you thought you’d be and are wondering what to do with your goals now.
You’ve completely forgotten what those January 1 goals even were, as well as who that person was that set them in the first place.

While this article may speak to any goal-inclined person, I’m writing it especially with folks in those latter two categories in mind.

Three Paths For Goals Gone Bad

Ok, I am being a bit facetious with my title here, because your goals aren’t bad/haven’t gone bad. Goals tend to be pretty neutral in that regard. They might just need a bit of attention, decisiveness, and redirection.

You have probably changed since the start of the year, right? You’ve learned some things, faced a few experiences you weren’t expecting, navigated challenges and celebrated joyful moments.

So if you’ve changed, it makes sense that your goals might change, too. “Once we set a goal, we learn new information,” writes Annie Duke in her powerful book, Quit. She goes on to say:

“Your goals should change because the world changes and you change. To keep up with all that change, you need to check back periodically on whether you’re taking the fastest route to the finish line, or if you’re even running in the right place.”

Below are three paths I find helpful when it comes to an honest re-evaluation of goals - whether mid-year or at any other point in the process. I hope you find them helpful, too!

1. Revive

If your goal still feels purposeful and important to you, and this is still the right time for it, then your best bet may involve breathing new life into it. You might do this in a couple of ways:

Pick up where you left off. If you haven’t taken action on the goal since March but are ready to again, take the next step on your action plan.
Craft a fresh new plan, starting from this day forward.

Most importantly with this choice, in my experience, is revisiting (or determining now) your why - the purpose behind your goal. Why did you set it in the first place? What will be different, better, or transformed as a result of your achievement? Purpose is the best motivator I know!

2. Rewrite

Since you’ve changed, your life has changed, the seasons have changed, and the world has changed, things are different now than when you wrote this goal back at the start of the year. If you decide to rewrite your goal, you can bring all of that new knowledge and experience into the fresh goal you’re crafting.

One point here that many of my coaching clients find helpful is examining your level of agency over your goal. For example, you can’t necessarily control who / how many people subscribe to your Substack, how many become paid subscribers, how often they share or comment on or engage with your posts, and the like. You can, however, be in charge of posting consistently, writing the highest quality content possible, engaging with others’ content, and so on.

What is within your agency and influence? Focus your attention there as you rewrite your goal.

3. Release

After an honest review of your goal, your current circumstances, and other factors, you may determine that the goal is no longer right for you or for this time. In that instance, you might decide it’s time to let it go.

Now, if you’re an achiever, you might cringe at this idea. “Quit the goal? Give up on it? No way!” This was me, too, for much of my life. And then when I read Heidi Grant Halvorson’s book, Succeed, way back in 2010, she finally gave me the language to support a healthy letting-go of the goals that are no longer serving me.

“There are of course times when you actually need to seriously consider giving up on a goal,” Grant Halvorson, a psychologist and motivation expert, writes. “The trick, it turns out, is to make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.”

She then goes on to share some of those reasons, such as recognizing that we have to prioritize and make choices; we can’t necessarily do all the things, all at the same time. Another reason: realizing the goal is simply costing you too much. “Many times, you find that you didn’t fully understand what you were getting yourself into,” she goes on to say in Succeed. “When that happens, the smart and healthy thing to do is to reeevaluate your choices.”

In addition, when I choose to let go of a goal, I often include ‘for now’ in my mental discussion. I can come back to the goal at a later date; I’m just choosing to release it for now.

Know others who might find this helpful? This article is public, so feel free to share it.

Plus A Bonus Idea!

And here’s one more idea that could turn out to be the easiest of them all:

4. Reframe Your Metrics

Depending on the goal, you might simply be able to redefine what constitutes success with it. For instance, I’ve published posts that have received only a handful of ‘likes’ on social media. If I determined my success only by ‘likes’ or vanity metrics alone, I’d surely be disappointed.

But oftentimes, the post that seems to get minimal attention publicly also prompts numerous individual messages, new client inquiries, people sharing the article with their networks, invitations to speak on the topic… in other words, signs that tell me my article made a difference and inspired positive action, key aims of mine.

As you reassess your goals, consider reassessing how you define success, too. Again, what truly is the purpose behind your goal? How can you most effectively measure that? This one might require a bit of turning inward, letting go of the ‘shoulds’ or what others view as success, and determining your measures from there.

***

It’s not too late. You’re not too far behind. And, despite the facetious title of this article, your goals haven’t gone bad.

They likely just need a bit of attention and care.

Which will you do: Revive? Rewrite? Release? Reframe your metrics? Something else - that maybe doesn’t even (gasp) begin with an ‘R’?

Let me know your next action! And if you’d like help, feel free to contact me about coaching. I’ve created an entire Bold Goals Planning + Tracking workbook and would love to help you set and reach your most meaningful goals!

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Reading And Purpose

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